Marcellus and Utica shale drilling continues to be hot topic

Well, OK, maybe that is an understatement! It seems like the main topic.

Everywhere I go, the gas drilling or something related to it comes up in conversation. At my family’s Thanksgiving day dinner, it was brought up by two of my brothers with two different views of the subject.

On Friday, I went to a farm auction in Columbiana County and was stopped by two readers who recognized me. You guessed it. Again the topic of drilling came up.

In each of these different conversations, different takes on it were discussed. One conversation centered on the jobs being created. This part of the conversation was about the wells already producing gas near Waynesburg, Pa. My brother told me there are sites with signs along the road asking for help. He said there are new signs every day and new jobs coming up each day.

On the other hand, another conversation centered on the increased truck traffic and how it was hampering harvest and making it kind of scary. We discussed the drilling trucks, water trucks and trucks carrying all other sorts of materials to the drilling sites right over the OH/PA state line.

The third conversation was a little different. We talked about a producing well in Carroll County. How it was hampering a cattle operation and of course, the truck traffic.

It was ironic, though, that a person in the conversation said he had some down time at his regular trucking job and had the opportunity to haul stone for a well that was being constructed in Carroll County. He acknowledged the truck traffic as being intrusive, but on the other hand, said the extra work helped to keep his household afloat.

My point in writing about these conversations is that there is going to be positive effects of the gas boom and negative effects along the way. I’m not sure we will know how to categorize some of what the future holds until it is all over as well. I am starting to feel that this gas boom is going to change our lives and the world around us forever. Exactly, how or what all of those changes will include remains to be seen.

What I want to know from readers is what type of articles do you want to read about the gas boom? I’ve been writing some about lawsuits, leasing and, of course, the worries about the water supplies, but what else do you want to know?

It’s without a doubt, probably one of the hottest topics for many of our readers and I want to make sure I’m giving readers the information they want to know about the Marcellus and Utica shale drilling.

Do me a favor, drop me a line or give me a call and let me know what you want to know! Until then, I’ll keep my eyes and ears open and listen to the conversations I’m sure to come across in the next few months!

Kristy Foster Seachrist lives in Columbiana County raising sheep and horses with her husband, Kurt. She earned her degree from Youngstown State University and has worked in both print and broadcast journalism.

2 comments

Kristy,
Info junkie that I am, I have spent many, many hours reading everything I can find about all aspects of this “mixed blessing”. I too believe this will change our area forever both positively and negatively. A couple of things come to mind when I think personally what ” I ” would like to happen for our area. FIrst I want economic success with minimal environmental impact. While I am all for the development of this resource, I realize we must be ever vigilant to make sure it happens in the least damaging way possible. Secondly I would like to make sure we take care of “us” first – the institutions, establishments and people that have been, will be here during and after. Let’s enrich our community through supporting and enhancing the organizations, places and communities that make life here good (4-H and the fairgrounds come to mind…. imagine how easily we can end that continual budget cut of the extension office with just a few 4-H families/landowners pitching in!). Most importantly though we have an unprecedented opportunity to parlay this into developing an area in which our farmers can continue to farm, our young people can stick around and their future will not be 150 or 1500 miles down the road.

I have thought about these questions a lot, enough that I have considered starting a blog for my children… kind of a before/after thing. I think this has the potential to change their lives enough they won’t remember what “this place” was before the “great oil and gas rush”.

I think I couldn’t have said it better than Jill McNicol (above). I think, like most things in life there will be positive and negative impacts. I hope we can lessen the negative to mere minor (and temporary) annoyance and see positive aspects for generations to come.